


A long way from the playground

by Artfulstar



Series: Vanilla Twilight Universe [2]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ezris, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings, Growing up in love, I love them and there's not enough work about them, Modern AU, it's kinda connected to my biggest fic, kids in love, or you can read standalone, so if you want some context, that's okay too, you should read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23532982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artfulstar/pseuds/Artfulstar
Summary: Long before we both thought the same thing / To be loved and to be in loveA story about how two kids fell in love over the years
Relationships: Ellis & Ezran (The Dragon Prince), Ellis/Ezran (The Dragon Prince)
Series: Vanilla Twilight Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689622
Comments: 15
Kudos: 59





	A long way from the playground

**Author's Note:**

> I just needed to get something out about Ezran and Ellis after Chapter 10 of my current fic “Vanilla Twilight”. It takes place in it’s universe, so if you want more context, I highly recommend you to go read it
> 
> Also, I wrote this while listening to [@raayllum](https://raayllum.tumblr.com/)/[wordswithdragons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordswithdragons/pseuds/wordswithdragons)’s Ezris playlist. You can listen to it [here!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/25bo9DRWps94sNN81kyvIC?si=Ktmpmo1ZSlqfcmg0bB0y3g)
> 
> The title comes from one of the musics in the playlist, **18 by One Direction**

_I._

Ez is alone in the playground again

Well, not alone. The birds are keeping him company

But he can’t play on the playground with the birds, even though he would like to

Ezran sighed. He shouldn't feel bad about it, after all, it was a common routine by now. He had grown accustomed to the idea he wasn’t good at connecting to other kids. They always thought he was weird. Sometimes, even he thought he _was_ weird

He was never bullied for that and he was glad, but that didn’t change the fact he felt lonely at recess

The birds around him all flew away in an instant. That meant someone was approaching him

Hesitantly, he looked up and saw a girl with hair in a side ponytail running towards him, a big smile on her face

“Hi!” she said and waved her hand excitedly at him

“Hi” Ezran only said. Was he supposed to do something?

“So? You wanna play with us?” she simply asked, her smile somehow getting bigger

“U-Uh?” she pointed to a few kids on the back, they were all gathered near the seesaw and the swing set

“I tried shouting from the other side of the playground, but you weren’t listening” she explained, her face changing from excitement to something else. Pity? “You seemed so deep in thought and… alone”

He felt his face flush in embarrassment and avoided her gaze. Was it really that obvious that he felt that way?

“No pressure! If you don’t want to, it’s okay!” he looked up and saw the concern in her face, but this time was mixed with something positive. Probably expectancy. It was encouraging to say the least

Before he noticed, he was getting off the ground, batting the dirt away from his pants. She was smiling at him again

“My name is Ellis!” she said

“Ezran” he simply answered

_II._

“So, your pet is a frog?” Ellis asked as they sat together on a bench in the park

“Toad”

“And he changes colors? Like a chameleon?”

“Yeah! Sometimes he glows, but it’s rare”

“It must be so cool!” her legs swayed excitedly

“It is” he smiled at her. Their conversation about pets started because she mentioned she had one and Ezran couldn’t help but mention Bait, but it seemed like Ellis had forgotten completely about her own pet. It was a common occurrence. She always seemed to get distracted much faster than any kid of their age “So, what about _your_ pet?”

“Oh! Yeah! Her name is Ava! She’s a huge Siberian Husky! My dad says she has some wolf blood in her, but she couldn’t be more cuddly!” her smile got bigger “We rescued her when she was just a puppy. She lost one of her paws in an accident, but we never let her feel bad about it. She isn’t different from any of the dogs just because she doesn’t have a paw! If anything makes her even more unique to me!”

Ezran couldn’t help but bask into the happiness that Ellis was sharing with him

“That sounds awesome Ellis. I’m happy you can share these things with me”

“Of course, Ez! You’re one of my best friends!” she giggled

“You’re one of my best friends too, Ellis”

_III._

The cold snow hit the back of his head, freezing up his whole body in an instant

Looking around the playground, he quickly saw Ellis duck behind a tree, her giggles not helping her hide from him

Ezran couldn’t help but smile as he grabbed a handful of snow in his gloved hand, his boots sinking in slightly into the few inches of snow in the ground

He quickly prepared to throw the snowball at his friend

He looked behind the tree and…

She wasn’t there

“What?” he verbalized his thoughts

Before he could look around to find her, he was tackled into the snow with another person

He fell on his back directly on the snow. He didn’t need to look to his side to know who had tackled him into the white and cold blanket, the laugh that left them was unmistakable

Ellis was also on her back by her side, her hand on her face as she laughed so hard she was tearing up

He accompanied her with a booming laughter of his own

They spent the next minutes just laying there. The ground was freezing, but the warmth they shared was enough to not let the cold bother them in any way

_IV._

Ezran’s 14th birthday was different from any other he ever had. This year Callum wasn’t able to make it. Something about his studies. It was weird, looking around the living room and not seeing him

Even Aunt Amaya’s new girlfriend was here, what was her name? Janai? Yeah, that was it

Callum was already engaged in his studies for about one year and a half, they talked almost every day but it was still weird not waking up and seeing him in the same room as him

Callum promised he would make up for his absence, that settled Ezran down a little, but still. He missed his brother

“Ez?” he turned to the person standing behind him

_Ellis_

It wasn’t something new for him that after almost 4 years of knowing each other, Ezran had developed affection towards the girl. Who could blame him?

Ellis was his first friend in school and helped him to finally get out of his shell and met other kids of his age

She also happened to be extremely kind, cheerful and pretty. It was due to happen sooner or later

“You okay?” she had her brows furrowed and her lips were pressed into a straight line

“Yeah, just thinking about some things”

“Care to share it?” she smiled up at him. Even if at the start of their friendship she happened to be taller than him by a few inches, he eventually caught up to her and surpassed her. It was still weird to have to look down to meet her eyes, but many things were weird in his life

“Sure” he shrugged his shoulders and, seemingly without thinking twice, she grabbed his hand and brought him to the front porch and sitting on the stairs

“Start talking” she said, not letting go of his hand

All of his worries simply vanished at that moment

_V._

“So, we need to read this book to do the essay” Ezran said as he sat on the foot of his bed with the book in his hands

He was half expecting Ellis to sit beside him, but she laid on his bed on her stomach, her head almost on his shoulder

His face was flushed almost instantly but he chose to ignore it and open the book instead

They were running late. Callum was supposed to come for dinner in about one hour and they still had to start reading the book. Of course, they were supposed to have more time in their hands, but they spent the last half hour just goofing around and choosing not to work on the essay

At the start, it was hard for him to concentrate with Ellis so close to him, but he eventually managed, the mood lifting every time they stopped to comment something funny about the book and laughing

They were sitting in comfortable silence, both reading each page of the book in their own pace

Suddenly the door that was shut opened, revealing Callum

“Hey Ez! Look who’s her-” Callum stopped dead in his tracks and Ezran couldn’t help but release a squeak that definitely didn’t sound like him

Of course, Ellis wasn’t phased by the interruption of their quiet time

“Hi!” she said, waving her hand excitedly at his brother, who had a confused look on his face

“Hi?”

“C-Callum! What are you doing here?” he was more nervous than he wanted to admit and it showed by the way his voice was still high

“Didn’t mom and dad tell you? I’m here for a visit”

“I mean, they did, I just didn’t realize the time had gone so fast and…” Did he not notice that the whole last hour had passed by? Wow, he was _definitely_ losing it

“Don’t worry, Ez” Ellis said with a smile and a hand on his shoulder “It seems like we lost track of the time. I gotta go home, my dad will get worried” she gave his shoulder a light squeeze before going to her shoes and putting them on and slinging her bag over her shoulder and going out the door “Byeeeeee!”

Her voice echoed through the hall until it finally stopped

He already missed her hand on his shoulder

_VI._

Ezran sat on the top of the monkey bars of the playground in the small park near his house. It was deserted, making it a perfect place for the talk he wanted to have with her

Ellis was right behind him, having no difficulty on climbing on top of the monkey bars beside him

They were facing the sunset now, breathing deeply the spring air

“It’s there something you wanted to talk with me?” she asked and he released a sigh

“I… I’ve been trying to tell you something for a few weeks” he started, his hands fidgeting and a little shaky

She must’ve noticed because she took both of them between hers and squeezed them lightly, which was supposed to help, but definitely just made what he wanted to tell her harder

He shouldn’t have underestimated why Callum never told Claudia his feelings for her. Now he knew it was harder than anything

He took a few deep breaths before continuing

“Ellis I…” the words were stuck in his throat. Why couldn’t this be easier? Ellis was looking at him with her big brown eyes, he thought he saw some redness on her cheeks, but that seemed to be just the reflection of dusk on them

He stayed silent for a few more moments before Ellis’ smile got a little softer and she spoke up without ceremony

“I like you too” she said not avoiding his gaze

“What?”

“Wasn’t that what you were going to say?” she asked, a brow raised

“I mean, y-yeah but-” the weigh of her words finally hit him “you like me?”

“Duh!” she smiled at him “I thought it was obvious?”

“Not to me, at least” he chuckled nervously

The sun was barely on the horizon anymore, leaving the sky a mix of yellow, orange and blue. Ellis’ face was painted with those colors which somehow managed to make her look even prettier in his eyes

He finally leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, closing his eyes automatically. It was chaste and he felt her leaning into it too. It only lasted a few seconds, but these were seconds of pure bliss that he wished it never ended

Even after they separated, he still couldn’t bear to open his eyes. He was afraid that if he did, it would turn out to be a dream

When she squeezed his hands again, he finally opened his eyes, only to find Ellis beaming at him, a _real_ blush dusting her cheeks

The grip on his hands fade away and she put her hands on his cheeks and brushed her thumbs over his freckles, letting a giggle escape her lips before planting a small kiss on his nose

He let out a small chuckle and captured her lips once again

There was nowhere else he would rather be right now

* * *

_All I can do is say that these arms were made for holding you_

_I wanna love like you made me feel_

_When we were 18_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! It was a blast writing something that wasn't rayllum! I know not many people shipp Ezran and Ellis, so this may not get the attention as my other stories, but I really liked writing it anyway  
> Also a personal thanks for everyone who came to me a few days ago to say they wanted to read this <3 You guys are the best!  
> [Say hi to me at tumblr!](https://artfulstar.tumblr.com/)  
> [I also have a Ko-fi!](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/zWNnqoF)


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